Listing of some of the great CT birding spots. Connecticut has more than its share of great birders , but the one area of the state that receives less attention than it deserves is the northeast quarter. I'll define this area as anywhere east of the Connecticut River and North of Willimantic (Windham), although, of course, I may stretch the boundaries at any time.
2013 - I'm traveling more - to the SW so far, and I'll add some info about my adventures there.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Cardinal Flower, Swallows on the move!

This is a native wildflower which is just coming into bloom now, at least in northern Ct. It grows in wet places, marshes, swamps and the banks of small streams. This plant and many others near it are just starting to flower. I'm including it here because it is a wonderful Hummingbird flower! There are cultivated versions of it which require a little less water and can be grown in a moist yard. It is a short-lived perennial.

SWALLOWS

I have noticed that I have seen relatively few swallows this summer, never more than an occasional one or two. Today, I noticed in late morning that in the vicinity of Bigelow Brook there were lots of swallows in the air, mostly over the stream bottom marshes. Most of them were quite high, several hundred feet at times, and I almost never saw one lower than a hundred feet or so. They were not in a close group, but spread out over the entire area of the stream bottom that I could see - at least a couple of miles. I'm sure there were at least 100, probably many more. All that I could ID were tree swallows. I don't think it was just a feeding frenzy, the birds are on the move, probably to their staging areas along the coast. I'll be interested to see how long this lasts.